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World Cup winner Peters No6 in #50GreatestHammers

One of our famous trio of 1966 FIFA World Cup winners checks in at No6 in the #50GreatestHammers countdown, in association with Official Investment Partner Basset & Gold…

Martin Peters

Years at West Ham: 1959-70Appearances: 364Goals: 100

Martin Peters is one of only 22 Englishmen who can call themselves a World Cup winner.

He is also one of a select few who have lifted continental silverware in the colours of West Ham United, so it comes as little surprise that the versatile midfielder ranks in the top six of the 50 greatest players to pull on the Claret & Blue.

‘The complete midfielder’ – so named because he was equally adept with either foot, was good in the air and difficult to mark because of his stealthy movement – was a stalwart of the Hammers throughout the golden era of the 1960s.

He racked up a round century of goals in West Ham colours – a fine return for a midfield player, which included four consecutive campaigns of 15 or more goals from 1965 through to 1969.

Peters’ most famous moment came at Wembley Stadium on that glorious July 1966 afternoon, when he scored England’s second goal in their 4-2 triumph over West Germany.

He would also taste glory with the Hammers, playing all nine games of the successful 1964/65 European Cup Winners’ Cup campaign, including the 2-0 win against TSV 1860 Munich in the Wembley final.

Peters got better and better as his Hammers career progressed, following his 18 goals in the 1967/68 campaign, with a career-best 24 the following year.

His one and only hat-trick for the Club also came during that campaign, in a 4-0 win against West Bromwich Albion.

He continued to impress on the international stage too, notching a total of 20 goals in 67 appearances for the Three Lions.

In March 1970, Tottenham Hotspur paid £150,000 to prise him away from the Boleyn Ground, with Jimmy Greaves also heading to east London as part of the deal.

He would add the League Cup and UEFA Cup to his medal haul during four years at White Hart Lane, before spells with Norwich City and Sheffield United towards the end of his playing days.

After a brief spell managing the Blades, he worked in insurance and received West Ham’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015, in recognition of his extraordinary feats in Claret & Blue